Milk project looks to help stop stomach ulcers

South-west Western Australian dairy farmers are being asked to work with a biotechnology company to develop milk products which the company claims can prevent stomach ulcers in humans.

WA company Agri-Biotech wants to immunise south-west cows using slow release implants in order to produce antibodies to ulcer-causing bacteria.

Agri-Biotech executive director Guan Tay says a recently formed partnership with a Chinese/Japanese company will allow it to distribute the milk through developing countries in Asia.

He says several south-west dairy farmers have expressed interest in the idea, which could also be expanded to sheep and goats.

"Insulin can be put into biodegradable pellets, so we've used the same technology, rather than release a drug or insulin we are releasing an antigen, it allows our technology to be transferred into the paddock and farmers can immunise cattle and induce the production of antibodies," he said.